magic in the moments

Heir of Spring

Species: human

Birthplace: Turlim, Quaris

Age: 30something- he isn’t quite sure

Height: 5’9”

Build: lean and flat-muscled; compact

Hair: Sandy blonde, wavy, about shoulder-length

Eyes: blue/grey

Skin tone: fair and freckled

Other: Perpetual scruffy shadow that he trims off every week or so.

Movement: He saunters everywhere, with an absolute confidence that implies he belongs right where he is. Very direct and economical otherwise.

Dress: Whatever he can get his hands on. He likes buckskin and hard-wearing fabrics, though.

Defense: He carries a crossbow and a hunting knife and a small blade. He’s all right- well trained compared to most ruffians, but not up to mercenary standards.

Magical Ability: He has some limited precognitive ability that he’s mostly unaware of. It mostly amounts to very accurate and helpful hunches, whims, spontaneous ideas, etc, at least when isolated from the other Heirs. Once he’s hooked in, it becomes much more powerful.

Background
Born Lucas, child of nobility, his mother was an Heir and Joris found out about it. The idea was to kill her and kidnap little Lucas to raise him as a pet Heir; things went awry, and while the mother was killed, the child escaped to be raised by gypsy nomads. Renamed Perdition (for whatever reason), he grew up with no knowledge of his origins and no real desire to uncover them. He was turned out of the tribe following several repeated indiscretions and took to making his money by swiping it from other people. He kept himself out of trouble with the help of his aforementioned precognitive ability. He drifted along in this manner quite happily—well, sort of—for several years, until a passing whimsy involving a circus landed him in the middle of a continental crisis.

Motivation
Perdition is in it for the money, really. Think Han Solo, but with less bravado.

Personality
Outwardly, Perdition is loud, friendly, gregarious; the perfect drinking buddy. Underneath he is quite calculating and manipulative. He understands people, and how to get them to do what he wants; he’s a smooth talker. He’s essentially a good person, but according to his own moral code, and without concern for the morals of others. If something needs to be done, he’ll do it, and he’ll let the so-called rules go hang. He is practical. He rarely trusts people fully, but when he does it is fully and uncompromisingly. He has a strong sense of duty, which he is forever trying (and failing) to escape from; he doesn’t want to feel guilty for letting people down.

-The imperial suite was dark.
-Illumnat perched on the balcony railing, craning his neck to see around the filmy curtains, blowing about in the summer breeze. He let out a huff of annoyance and slid to the floor, letting his wings vanish and his spine straighten. He crept across the polish floor, now-human feet making no sound.
-The Empress slept unheeding, a tousled lump in a massive white bed. The whole room was massive and white, Illumnat observed dryly. Rain needed to learn how to use color.

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-The hall was quiet, the cold marble edges seeming almost sharp enough to cut. The greens and grays could have been welcoming, but instead were merely frigid. There were no windows, no candles, but the room was nonetheless brightly lit; occasionally it dimmed a bit, but a slight wave from the lone occupant was enough to restore the light.
-Said creature was occupying a low dais at the far end, a dark-haired man sitting at small desk. He was rummaging through parchments, each containing rows of dense handwriting. He looked harried, irritated by something in the words scattered before him. His green-yellow eyes scanned over the material quickly, brow alternately knitting and smoothing as he read.

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~1. Out of all your original characters, which one is the 'spokesman/spokeswoman' (meaning, which one is the main character in the project you are planning to one day do)?~
Perdition mainly, although everyone has a chance at the spotlight after a fashion.

~2. Why did you choose for this character to be the main one? ~
I didn’t- he kinda chose himself. Originally Perdition was just the obligatory bad boy character, a trade-off for a far more boring Aragorn-clone. Over time, he has become one of the most complex characters I’ve ever enjoyed.

~3. Which character is your catalyst character (meaning, the character that isn't necessarily the antagonist/villain but they definitely kick-start the plot development)?~
Either Goryn, because he sees the need to get movin’, or Rain, because she starts movin’ herself out of sheer desperation and befuddlement.

~4. What character (or characters) in your project do you feel you could or should do more work on?~
Pretty much everyone that isn’t Perdition, Peace, Zane, Goryn, or Matthew. I haven’t really looked at it in a long time.


~5. Villain/antagonist; do you have one? And if so, on a scale of one to ten, how well do you think you know them?~
Yes, I have one; he’s the creepily attractive Joris. I don’t really know him very well anymore; I’d say about a 3. He’s odd.


~6. Romance; do you feel your characters have life beyond their romantic involvement or no?~
Oh, definitely. Most of my romances occurred naturally within the course of the storyline; the characters arrived separately and left together, basically.

Species: Human/water nymph

Birthplace: Hope’s Cross, in northeast Qualdrig

Age: 28

Height: 5’ 6”

Build: Slender, but with pretty good muscle definition

Hair: Mainly blue/green, but with purple undertones

Eyes: Pale green

Skin tone: Very pale, luminous alabaster

Movement: Magnolia is extremely graceful in an effortless, liquid kind of way. She is an extremely good dancer.

Dress: She’ll wear anything, really, but usually is either found in a loose dress or in the gypsy-clothes (leather leggings, boots, loose shirt & leather jerkin) she acquired in Waru.

Defense: Magnolia fights in the whirling style of the Waru gypsies, but with a distinctly hard edge that gypsies would never use. She’s lethal when she sets her mind to it. She carries a dagger, but rarely uses it.

Magical Ability: She is able instinctually to find water and manipulate it to a small extent, but her human half impedes this slightly (except in extreme circumstances).

Background
Magnolia spent her childhood in Hope’s Cross with her mother, a human. She never knew her father; her mother refused to ever tell Magnolia anything except that he was a water elemental of some power. She was an oddity and never really had any attachment to the town. At 15 she ran away from home, tired of being the odd one out. She left with the intent of finding ‘her father’s people’ but soon learned nymphs are generally solitary nomadic creatures. She never found her father. At 18, disillusioned, she made her way north to Waru and spent 4 years with a minor highway gang. It was there that she learned to fight and how to really look after herself. At 22 she was captured, however, and in exchange for jail time she worked as a dowser for a minor noble. She was basically content, but was unable to leave of her own accord. Unfortunately, at 25 she was captured by raiders and sold to the travelling circus. For two years she was generally well treated, as she put on a spectacular water display. Eventually she fell out of favor, however, and became a popular target for the guards. Around this time Zane became her cellmate and Magnolia protected him as best she could from their captors, bartering herself for the boy’s safety. It worked as far as keeping Zane safe, but Magnolia suffered severe physical and emotional trauma from the experience. When she was rescued, she had mentally regressed to around age 12. She healed physically in a short time, and while she appeared to be all right emotionally, she was subject to flashbacks and nightmares. At times she would regress for a short time, particularly in frightening situations. She remained Zane’s protector, however.

Motivation
Magnolia needs desperately to find herself. The past 10 years have utterly destroyed her and she’s trying to forge a new identity. She wants to get past all her issues, but is having a worse time of it than she’d like. Having a chance to get vicarious revenge does appeal to her, however.

Personality
Magnolia is incredibly moody. She varies wildly between moods, never reacting exactly the same to any given situation. She has a sharp, slightly abrasive sense of humor. She tends to daydream when not confronted with something that requires her attention. Magnolia wants to be a loner, but still sticks with groups as a rule. She’s not a coward physically, but emotionally is a bit uncertain. Tends towards brashness and is extremely violent if her friends are threatened. She angers easily, but also forgives easily.

Zane
Heir of Zachariah

Species: Satyr

Birthplace: Diamond Hills, near the Satira/Waru border.

Age: 11 ½

Height: 4’6”

Build: He’s rather thin from his time at the circus, but promises to be very broad and muscular.

Hair: Glossy blacks curls

Eyes: Tawny golden-brown color, animal-like pupils

Skin tone: Swarthy olive

Movement: He’s starting to get into a growth spurt, so he’s a bit klutzy, but has the promise of being extremely agile and graceful. Generally speaking he is very sure-footed.

Dress: Zane goes naked if he can manage it, which is basically all the time. Occasionally the adults in the group get him into a loincloth, but it’s a rare occasion.

Defense: He’s not much use in a fight, being so untrained and unseasoned, but can use a quarter staff with some skill.

Magical Ability: None whatsoever


*Background*
Zane grew up in the foothills of the Diamond Hills. His mother died when he was a small child and he was basically raised by his father, Jeremiah, and the other shepherds. They help care for the local lord’s livestock. His childhood was a simple one, but happy- he played with the other shepherd-children and had many surrogate mother figures, so did not lack in that area. He was entirely unaware of life outside his little world until, at 10, he was kidnapped by slave-traders along with a few other children from his village. They were separated and Zane was sold to a travelling circus, as in the western lands satyrs are something of a novelty. He was treated very badly, but was spared any real psychological trauma. His cellmate was the nymph Magnolia, who took him under her wing and protected him from harm as best she could. When they were rescued he remained very attached to her, to the point of being unwilling to go anywhere without her.

*Motivation*
Zane wants to go home desperately, but he also feels he needs to find his friends. He also recognizes that, young as he is, he has a duty to assist the Heirs. It’s very confusing, so he basically has decided he’s going to help Magnolia whether she likes it or not.

*Personality*
Zane is very levelheaded. He is a very social little kid, and makes friends easily. He is also extremely loyal and will not give up on someone unless they’re dead, and even then would probably follow him or her beyond the pale if he thought he could bring them back. He’s rustic, but that adds to his charm. He’s a bright kid, both in learning and disposition.